The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-07-07
Fire


To the Editor of the Statesman.
"Three millions of dollars lost in three
fires this week. What terrible wreck
age of valuable property! Can no way
be devised by which the fearful spread
and ravages of these deyouring flames can
be promptly and successfully stayed?"
STATESMAN, June 80, 1887.
1t can be done, and at less cost than the
expense of insurance. 1t is far better TO
prevent the destruction of buildings by
fire than to have them destroyed and the
damages made good by insurance. A
building with its contents, once destroyed,
is SO much wealth obliterated out of the
country, insured or not insured. AS in
surance has not tendency to lessen the
occurrence of fire, but often invites fraud
and carelessness on the part of owners of
property, it would be far better for the
wealth of the nation if there was not fire
insurance association in the land.
Without an insurance, every vigilance
and ingenuity would be exercised to pre-
vent fires, and it is self-evident their oc-
currence would not be as frequent as
they are now.
Many years ago l filed a caviat in the
patent office to prevent the destruction of
buildings by fire by spray arrangement.
1t may have been about the period when
made my experiments to transmit sound
by the aid of electricity, which was prior
to the war. The invention remained dor
mant until after the great fires at Chi
cago and Boston. After the occurrence
of the latter, the Bostonians adopted the
system to protect many of their buildings.
To establish my claim as inventor of the
same, 1 presented my patent office Gre
dentials to the publishers of the "Union
and Advertiser" of Rochester, N. Y, who
made the following statement in their
issue of December 5, 1872:
at appears that the Bostonians are
appropriating DR.. Hachenberg's invention
of spray-pipe for protection of buildings
against fire without due credit. We have
seen the drawings and specifications men
toned as they were filed in patent Office,
or copies of the same"
The document here referred to con-
tanned the patent Office stamp, with date,
when received.
AS this spray arrangement has been
common property to all that wish to use
it, for many years, have no interest in
the same but to establish my priority in
the invention and to recommend its
general use. The following is an arrange
ment of the invention.
In buildings with non-metallic roofs
small iron water pipe with many per-
forated holes is fastened on the very top
of the roof, so as to throw a spray on
both sides of the roof, the main pipe run
ming down the side of the building, which
is likewise so arranged as to serve as
lightning conductor. Perforated pipes
are likwise placed along the floors of the
building and at other desirable places, so
as to inundate every part of the wood
work of the building in case of fire.
This can be done almost instantaneously.
The saturation can be arranged without
doing any special damage to goods and
furniture, except such as may be in i'm
mediate contact with the floor, as car
pets, etc. In extensive buildings the ar
rangeuent can be such that
only certain portions of the building
can be sprayed, or so arranged, so that
both building and contents can be
sprayed at the same time. This is of i'm
mense advantage in case of fire in lumber
yards, livery stables, cotton warehouses,
factories, and in particular in those hor-
rible fires in the bulls of steamers.
Not only water can be used with these
pipes, but they may serve to convey into
chambers some form of gas that instanta
neously extinguish fire. The desired gas
could be Immediately prepared by previ
Gus preparations on the outside of the
building, or what may be better brought
to the place by fire company in a suita-
BILE apparatus.
If this system of spraying was affixed
to each building in cities, general con-
hagration would be an impossibility, and
it would prove the way by which the
fearful spread and ravages of these de-
vouring flames can be promptly and sue
cessfully stayed"
G. p. HACHENBERG, NJ. d.
A Jersey Dodge: Spokesman-"No OBJ